Fall 2013, No. 30

Twenty-four years ago, the Democrats were a party in trouble. They had just lost their third consecutive presidential election, and the prospects for the future looked bleak. In response, William Galston and Elaine Kamarck wrote one of the most important political white papers of our time: “The Politics of Evasion,” an essay that diagnosed the party’s ills and urged the Democrats to change course. Their advice was controversial, but it was heeded by some important people—including one Bill Clinton. In our current issue, Galston and Kamarck revisit that landmark paper and find that it still holds valuable lessons for a party lost in the wilderness—this time, the Republicans.

Also in the issue: Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace takes a look at our deteriorating relationship with Russia. Richard V. Reeves, Isabel Sawhill, and Kimberly Howard of the Brookings Institution call on progressives to begin paying attention to the “parenting gap.” Henry Farrell of George Washington University explores the world of technology intellectuals. And Bruce Raynor and Andy Stern rebut Rich Yeselson’s “Fortress Unionism” essay from the previous issue.

In the books section, we have Joan Walsh on George Packer’s take on American decline; Seyla Benhabib on the late Albert O. Hirschman; J.J. Goldberg on Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s new book on anti-Semitism; Meg Jacobs on the history and politics of austerity; and Diana Wueger on the continuing debate over guns.

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Features

The New Politics of Evasion

New thinking and favorable demography have largely addressed the Democrats' old problems. Now it's the Republicans who can't face reality.

By William Galston

35 MIN READ

Winter Has Come

The "reset" with Russia worked, until Putin sabotaged it. Now the relationship is in tatters. Here's how to save it—if we even want to bother.

By Andrew S. Weiss

31 MIN READ

The Parenting Gap

The first two years of life are crucial. We need to help lower-income parents do better—and demand that they do.

By Richard V. Reeves Isabel Sawhill Kimberly Howard

21 MIN READ

The Tech Intellectuals

The good, bad, and ugly among our new breed of cyber-critics, and the economic imperatives that drive them.

By Henry Farrell

23 MIN READ

Book Reviews

Unwound

Four years after Obama took office, George Packer sees little hope for the liberal project. Why is he, along with many, many others so depressed?

By Joan Walsh

17 MIN READ

Hatreds Ancient and New

Antisemitism remains a scourge, but Daniel Goldhagen's global history confuses more about its modern manifestations than it illuminates.

By J.J. Goldberg

18 MIN READ

Oracle’s Odyssey

Albert O. Hirschman lived a dramatic twentieth-century life and sought to use it to create a more humane social science.

By Seyla Benhabib

16 MIN READ

Fiscal Drag

Finally (about 40 years too late) the tide may be turning against austerity.

By Meg Jacobs

15 MIN READ

Pistol-Whipped

The gun industry and lobby have a stranglehold on our politics, but a rhetorical shift by gun-control advocates could help break it.

By Diana Wueger

13 MIN READ

Responses

Build Bridges, Not Fortresses

Waiting for the workers to rise up isn't a new idea—it's the same idea that got labor into its mess in the first place. A response to Rich Yeselson.

By Bruce Raynor Andy Stern

9 MIN READ

Recounting

Life of the Party

Party platforms don't matter, but they can, and they should. A platform-writing process that included party faithful could energize our politics.

By Ethan Porter

10 MIN READ

Editor's Note

Editor's Note

Michael Tomasky introduces Issue #30

By The Editors

4 MIN READ

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Letters from our readers

By Democracy Readers

5 MIN READ

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